The present invention pertains to a cover feeding device for feeding covers separated from a magazine to book blocks.
In the industrial production of brochures, book blocks are assembled by means of perfect binding and provided with a cover that is pressed on the glue-coated spine and, if applicable, laterally thereof. The covers are separated from a magazine, scored in the spine region and synchronously fed to the book blocks that are clamped in book block grippers revolving continuously along an oval track. A cover feeding device of this type in the form of a cover station for perfect binders is described in [Liebau, Dieter and Heinze, Inéz: Industrial Bookbinding, Beruf+Schule Publishing, 2001; p. 309].
Lateral stops in the cover magazine, as well as guide rails on the cover transport device, are adjusted to the respective cover format to be processed transverse to the cover conveying direction such that the cover is pressed on the spine of the book block in an accurately positioned fashion with its spine region that usually has a special shape. In this case, the lateral stops can only be adjusted on an empty magazine because the covers would otherwise be pushed over the magazine bottom such that visible friction markings can be produced or the covers may even crumple. Consequently, the covers for brochure formats to be subsequently produced can only be inserted into the magazine after the corresponding adjustments have been carried out, wherein this represents a very elaborate procedure, particularly for small editions, and results in long set-up times relative to the actual production time.